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  • Our recent history is shaped by two major events: the pandemic and the Great Resignation. Thousands of people were left without jobs, and it was a big challenge for recruiters to replace them. As a result of such challenging times, individuals have realized the value of family and close relationships even more than ever, which has caused them to look for better opportunities. Approximately 47 million people resigned from their jobs in 2021 in the United States. Candidates aren’t settling for life in cubicles with a 45-minute commute. They’re looking ahead to a more promising career path.

    In this post-pandemic world, it’s time for businesses to pivot. With the volume of candidates and the number of positions available in 2023, you know it will be challenging to attract new employees. Here are tips on how you can attract candidates to fill your open jobs in the upcoming year.

    Establish Your Goals

    Attracting the best talent and building an effective team takes more than a job posting. It takes a strategic plan that includes goals, processes, communication channels, and more. This will be your foundation when driving forward your recruiting plan and retaining top-tier talent. Ask yourself:

    • What does a top performer look like to our organization?
    • What will our organization look like in 2023? What are we trying to achieve?
    • What specific roles are we looking to hire for?
    • What skill sets do we need to fill those roles?
    • What can we do to better our organization for incoming talent? What can we improve?

    You may have some heavy lifting to do before you can hire the talent you’re looking for. However, asking these questions will help assess those areas so you can create a solid plan.

    Revise Your Recruiting Plan

    Once you’ve asked yourself these important questions and created some goals, it’s time to get started on a plan that will put those goals into action. It’s essential to have a clear hiring plan in place before you bring on new talent. When you have a sense of what you need, you can attract new candidates with better quality.

    A strategic recruitment plan will typically cover:

    • Headcount planning
    • Ideal candidate profiles
    • Your employee value proposition
    • Your recruitment marketing strategy
    • Your selection processes
    • Your onboarding processes
    • Tools and technology
    • Your recruitment budgets
    • Your timeline

    This is also the time to decide who will help you achieve this plan. You may decide to outsource this help if you don’t have a proper internal recruitment process or simply outsource assistance for specific tasks. These tasks can include writing job descriptions, reviewing applications, and reaching out to candidates to schedule interviews.

    How To Attract And Retain New Talent

    While a recruiting plan will help you in your overall strategy, it’s important to consider what your potential candidates are looking for in a company and within the hiring process. They will carefully assess how you conduct business and what you offer them, which will ultimately be the deciding factor when accepting the position. Once you attract talent, the goal is to retain that talent; it’s beneficial to look at how your organization functions and why people should work for you. 

    Consider remote work

    In this post-pandemic world, remote work is becoming normalized and, to some degree, expected. While not all jobs can be performed in an at-home setting, remote work has opened the door for better flexibility around working hours. This means candidates are keeping an eye out for hybrid schedules or fewer constraints around business hours. In fact, two days of remote work is the new requirement for job seekers.

    Incorporate branding

    86% of HR professionals surveyed indicated recruitment is becoming more like marketing. And in a way, it is! Branding plays a huge part in the vetting process for job seekers. They’ll scope your business social media platforms, company website, and read your latest blogs to get an idea of who you are as an organization. If they don’t like what they see, this will definitely impact their decision to choose your offer over someone else’s.

    Write a solid job description

    The job description is the first thing your potential hire is going to read. What does it covey about your company? Are your values reflected? If not, it may be time for a rewrite. Job descriptions that don’t sell your company and clarify what this particular position will involve can be a stumbling block to landing the right person. A good job description should include the following:

    • Job title
    • Duties and responsibilities 
    • Location
    • Education and skill requirements
    • Salary range
    • Benefits and company perks

    Clearly communicate during the hiring process

    Recruiters are often the first interaction candidates will have in the interview process. This first impression reflects your organization, so be sure they’re a good choice for your brand and have strong people skills. A good interview and communication process can speak volumes about your company and a good recruiter will follow up with candidates regularly. This includes quick responses when scheduling follow-up interviews, communicating the hiring process, and being prompt in answering questions.

    Show candidates that you value them

    Showing that you value your potential hires can be good during the interview process, but it’s especially beneficial in the long term. Investing in and supporting employees is one of the key ingredients to maintaining a good relationship, and in turn, retains good talent. You don’t want to lose great employees just because they feel undervalued. Be sure to present them with new opportunities and reward their hard work.

    Make their priorities a priority

    Any talented employee will encounter problems at some point, whether with people or processes. They’ll often go to management to voice concerns or offer solutions, so it’s vital that your management team is ready to handle these issues head-on. New hires often notice room for improvement pretty quickly. Being open to feedback shows that you value growth and make their priorities your priority.

    Curate a good company culture

    No company can master a good company culture overnight. It’s a practice that takes years of work, good management, mindful hires, and diligence, but it’s a crucial key in retaining employees. This post-pandemic age is proof that employees can be successful all while working from the comfort of their homes, so a healthy work-life balance is what any good hire is looking for. Setting this as a priority will lead to long-term success.

    Assess your processes

    We’re all familiar with the day-to-day grind and the toll it can take, especially when you don’t have the proper tools to do your job. That’s where streamlining processes can come in handy for your employees. Invest in tools and resources that make them efficient. Efficiency = productivity.

    Show them the money

    The majority of workers who quit a job in 2021 said low pay, no opportunities for advancement, and feeling disrespected at work were reasons why they quit. Securing top-tier talent goes hand-in-hand with proper compensation. Being open and transparent about salary and advancement opportunities shows a candidate that they’ll be valued, which retains them in the long run. Benefits are a part of the compensation package as well, so a good benefits program is also key.

    Ways To Find New Talent

    Recruiting new talent can be one of your most important tasks. But what if individuals are just simply not applying? You may have to get creative with your efforts or post jobs where you normally wouldn’t.

    Social media

    Social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram, and even TikTok are becoming revolutionary ways to find new talent. With these platforms, you’re able to capture attention in a way that is both engaging and informative. Use your job posting as a guide when crafting social content, and include the link to gain more applicants. For platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, try inviting them to visit your website for more information.

    Job board and career sites

    This one may sound like a no-brainer, but there is a likely chance that there are other job boards you may not have tried out. There are also various career sites catered to specific professions. By scoping out the most relevant job boards for your vacancies, you’ll spend less time reviewing irrelevant applications and attracting the most suitable candidates.

    Networking events

    Orchestrating or finding networking opportunities can be an easy way to discover new talent. Everyone attends networking events to gain something, whether it be mentorships, new opportunities, or work relationships. Even if it doesn’t result in an immediate hire, networking can lead to a pool of mutuals that may apply in the future.

    Employee referrals

    Everyone knows someone, and this is true with professionals, too. Offering employee referrals can be a great way to find like-minded individuals to fill open positions. You can incentivize your employees to do this as well through a referral program set by your organization. For example, companies commonly offer $1,000 to the employee that gave the referral.

    Let’s Find The Right Candidates

    Hiring in 2023 doesn’t have to be an impossible feat. By putting in the effort and following a solid recruitment plan, you’re bound to find job seekers who are eager to work for your organization. But the journey doesn’t end there. Building a good company culture and offering room for growth is truly the key to success.

    Between ongoing training and employee recruitment services, it takes a lot of time and effort to find, hire and develop the right people for your organization. At GMS, we give you access to the tools and resources necessary to take on these responsibilities while improving your overall recruiting, hiring, and training efforts. Our human resources experts work closely with you to offer guidance on these processes. We’d love to help!

  • In the current economic climate, businesses face major challenges in retaining and attracting top talent. The talent war has made recruiting practices uncertain for all companies, regardless of size or industry. Employees have a wider range of career options than they’ve ever had. With remote and hybrid work options becoming more popular, employees are no longer constrained by where, when, or how they work. You might be wondering, what led to the talent war? Continue reading to learn more.

    Talent War

    The demand for greater workplace flexibility has continued to rise. There are 10 million jobs in the United States; however, only half the talent is qualified for the positions. In conjunction with rising wages, there has been a major talent shortage. The balance of power seems to have shifted away from the employer and toward the employee. Are you ready to combat the talent war?

    Promote Employee Value Proposition 

    Businesses should consider implementing an employee value proposition to win over the employees during the complex job market. An employee value proposition is a statement that shows what an employer or organization is willing to do to support its employees. Your employer brand is what attracts and retains employees for the long term.

    Clarify Recruiting Messages

    As a result of the pandemic, employees realized they needed a job that would not only fulfill them but also accommodate their needs. Employees have begun:

    • Shifting their own priorities
    • Pursuing more desirable salaries, benefits, and flexibility
    • Changing professional or educational paths

    Throughout the hiring process, recruiting is no longer about the job itself. Employees are looking to find a position that fits their specific needs.

    Align Your Marketing

    As a business, sharing a consistent message across all channels and platforms is important. This can begin on the careers page of your company website and reach across all social media sites.

    Social media allows your candidates to dive into your company culture, events, and more, to ensure they are the right fit. The following are major topics to consider when posting:

    • Culture and values
    • Employee spotlights
    • Client interactions or successes
    • Volunteerism and other community or philanthropic initiatives

    Break Geographical Barriers

    Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were often geographical barriers within the hiring processes. Since hybrid and remote work schedules became increasingly popular, there has been a break in that barrier. The recruiting process is not limited to one local area. This simplifies the process by finding quality candidates nationally or even internationally without expecting candidates to relocate.

    Make Everyone A Recruiter

    Recruiters are still responsible for finding top talent; however, it is no longer the expectation that recruiters are the only ones to engage in the hiring process to find qualified candidates. Push everyone at your company to share their experiences. Anyone can leverage their individual connections to refer to a potential candidate.

    Organizations often fear using platforms such as Glassdoor or Google My Business due to poor reviews with the opportunity to tarnish a company’s brand. Although these websites can cause uncertainty, they can create a major benefit. As an employer, it’s important to consider recruiting efforts that focus on the following:

    • Employee experience 
    • Company culture
    • Organizational values

    Focusing on these three key features will allow employers to feel at ease on review platforms. If the time comes that there is a negative review, be sure to work on addressing candidate or employee concerns. This allows job candidates to see your company’s professionalism while handling adversity.

    Uncertainty And Retention

    Throughout times of uncertainty, recruiting efforts shouldn’t stop. No matter what’s going on, you should still promote your employer brand to potential candidates. Focusing on your employer brand is more critical than ever. Employer branding is how your company is portrayed to potential job seekers. This can be shown through the values your business brings to the table.

    Recruiting is a continuous process. After seeing success, employers must consider employee retention. Unfortunately, not all employees stay for the long haul. To continue in your retention efforts, you must vocalize the following:

    • Why they’re here
    • Why their work matters
    • Potential opportunities
    • What they love about the company

    Don’t fall behind in the talent war, focus your efforts on your employee value proposition. Focus on building an employer brand based on experience, culture, and values. Ensure that your social platforms and website share a glimpse into your company culture. Push your employees to become brand advocates. It’s essential to never give up on these recruiting efforts, even when you’re not hiring.

    Your Hiring Hero 

    What makes your business stand out from others? Partnering with GMS allows you to boost your typical hiring practices and build plans to increase employee retention. If that’s not enough, we will assist you with the recruiting process, from hire to retirement. With GMS, you can say goodbye to the tedious hiring process and focus on your business. Contact us today to learn more.

  • Congresswoman Elise Stefanik introduced the Advancing Skills-Based Hiring Act. This bill will support employers seeking to adopt skills-based hiring practices that prioritize applicants’ job skills and abilities over college degrees. Skills-based hiring is the practice of screening and hiring new employees based on the skills, capabilities, and talent they bring to the table rather than their educational background or degree.

    Stefanik expresses, “While millions of Americans remain out of the workforce in the midst of a labor shortage, I am committed to helping employers broaden their applicant pool and identify talented workers who have gained skills outside of post-secondary education.” This act ultimately empowers employers to evaluate candidates based on their experience and not on their education. This hiring approach expands economic opportunity for the two-thirds of Americans who don’t have a four-year college degree. To strengthen their workforces, employers should also be able to use skills-based hiring by removing government barriers.

    The Advancing Skills-Based Hiring Act will:

    • Allow employers to voluntarily submit assessment validity evidence to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for proactive review
    • Provide employers a safe harbor if the EEOC determines their use of an assessment satisfies the legal burden of being “job-related”
    • Ensure employers can participate in this voluntary compliance initiative without risk by preventing the EEOC from using an employer’s participation as a basis for future investigation and protecting the information an employer submits from being used against them

    Implementing Skills-Based Hiring

    There are several ways you can begin implementing skills-based hiring within your business. The easiest way is through a skills assessment or job audition. These tests are designed to determine whether the applicants have the skills necessary to perform various essential aspects of the job. Most businesses integrate these tests early in the screening process to ensure that they focus on candidates uniquely qualified to perform.

    You may ask yourself how skills-based hiring is different from typical hiring processes. When business owners or HR professionals implement a traditional hiring process, the screening tools and tactics being utilized search for keywords on an application to verify that the candidate is suitable for the role. Ultimately, the traditional hiring approach uses education and previous job experience as a representation of talent. However, this approach has its disadvantages. Resumes are unreliable and don’t depict the candidate the way they should. Let’s face it, we’ve all revamped our resumes to make ourselves look perfect for the job. In addition, a degree doesn’t necessarily tell you if a candidate is capable of performing well.

    Adopting skills-based hiring practices allows companies to achieve the following:

    • Lowers recruiting costs
    • Enables companies to close skill gaps
    • Improves retention
    • Increases productivity with people who are truly equipped to perform well
    • Improves diversity hiring
    • lowers turnover

    Let’s Start 2023 Strong, Together

    This sounds like an excellent hiring process, right? However, we know what you’re thinking, it might take more effort than you would like. That’s where GMS comes into play. Our HR experts work closely with you to offer guidance on onboarding and training. We simplify the process. We can utilize skills-based hiring practices to attract your desired and needed employees. Julie Petro, GMS’ Recruitment Specialist expresses, “Skills-based hiring is extremely beneficial to all business owners. There are a variety of transferable skills that can be taught and applied to many different positions. Hiring based on skills rather than education can open up a larger and more diverse candidate pool, increasing the chances of a more successful hiring process.” Let’s start 2023 strong and partner with GMS. Contact us today.

  • If you’re a small business owner, you understand there is never enough time to complete everything necessary to run your business. There is quite a bit on your plate from running sales, day-to-day operations, and dealing with issues that arise. On top of that, there is a slew of HR-related duties that need to be performed. Let’s look at the overwhelming number of tasks that HR must deal with and the time it takes to complete each one.

    Payroll

    It is estimated that small businesses spend five hours per pay period processing their payroll. Eighty percent of small businesses process payroll weekly or biweekly. Not only does processing payroll take a great deal of time, but nearly half of those who calculated payroll found it confusing and frustrating.

    Compliance

    Compliance is another time-consuming task for small business owners. A report shows that 14% of small businesses spend more than 20 hours working through federal regulations each month, while 25% of owners lose more than 10 hours of productivity to regulatory compliance. As laws and regulations are constantly changing, it’s vital to stay on top of them, ensure you are compliant, and avoid fines. Additionally, diverse labor laws across cities and states can complicate the process further.

    Benefits

    On average, 1.6 hours are spent each week on employee benefits. An average of eight hours is spent on benefits during the open enrollment period. Thirty-seven percent of businesses say there is a moderate to heavy amount of paperwork involved while managing employee benefits. Benefits should not be overlooked, given that it’s an important tool to retain workers.

    Hiring And Recruiting

    As if all the above wasn’t hard enough, it takes a business a significant amount of time and energy to hire and recruit employees. The time it takes a business to find and hire an employee is the biggest time strain. This process could take up to 30 hours to hire one new employee.

    The most time-consuming hiring tasks include:

    • Interviewing candidates – seven hours
    • Searching for candidates – six hours
    • Reaching out to candidates – six hours
    • Vetting candidates – six hours
    • Researching best practices – five hours

    This is very time-consuming for a small business to take on this task on its own. In addition, if you hire the wrong candidate and they either leave or are fired, it costs six to nine months of that person’s salary.

    GMS Is Here To Take On These Time-Consuming Tasks

    Group Management Services specializes in payroll, HR, benefits, and risk management. Not only will GMS save your business time and money, but we will take on the additional stress and frustration of completing these tasks. This allows you to focus on growing your business while maintaining compliance. Contact GMS today.

  • In August, employers slowed hiring, pointing to a cooling labor market and rising interest rates. The Labor Department reported that employers had added 315,000 jobs in August, a major downfall from 520,000 in July. The unemployment rate rose to 3.7% from 3.5%. Economists say the rise in unemployment represents individuals who began looking for work and were counted as unemployed.

    The continued growth of jobs shows that the economy continues to expand, even as the gross domestic product contracted during the year’s first half. Hiring has been one of the bright spots in this slowing economy. Employers have added an average of 380,000 jobs each month over the past three months. While the government has estimated the economy has shrunk in the first six months of 2022, an informal definition of a recession, employers still increased jobs.

    Overview Of August

    Wage growth in August continued to slow, with average hourly pay rising 5.2% for all workers and 6.1% for production and nonsupervisory workers. Nonsupervisory workers exclude managers and make up more than 80% of the workforce. Consumer prices have increased 8.5% in the last 12 months. As a result, most employees’ paychecks aren’t keeping up with the rising costs. In August, employers added:

    • 68,000 jobs in professional and business services
    • 48,000 in healthcare
    • 44,000 in retail
    • 31,000 in leisure and hospitality 
    • 22,000 in manufacturing

    What The Future Looks Like

    While the economy is facing unprecedented times, economists have given encouraging signs in recent reports. The participation rate, which measures how many people are working or looking for jobs, rose to 62.4%. This now matches its level in March, which marks a post-pandemic high. While many industries have recovered from the jobs lost during the COVID-19 recession, some businesses are still falling behind. Even though the overall economy is at a turning point, the labor market seems to be on the rise.

    How GMS Comes Into Play

    While no individual can necessarily predict what the future holds for businesses, there are specific steps you can take to be proactive. While unemployment is rising, what can you do as a business owner? If you have open positions but are struggling to fill those with quality talent, GMS is here to help. Our HR experts are here to write enticing job descriptions, advertise open positions, and conduct interviews to find the best talent for your business. Fear no more. GMS is here to make your business simpler, safer, and stronger. Contact us today to get started.

  • Finding and hiring the right employees is a critical process for any growing business. That’s why more businesses are turning to recruiting partnerships to streamline and improve their recruiting efforts.

    According to a survey by the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM), nearly two-thirds of companies outsource all or some of their recruiting. While larger companies are more likely to turn to recruitment partners, small and medium-sized businesses also benefit greatly from these relationships. Below we’ll break down exactly what these relationships are and why they’re an increasingly popular option for employers.

    What Is A Recruiting Partnership?

    The simplest way to define a recruiting partnership is when a company works with outside human resources professionals to find, attract, and hire talented candidates. The recruiting process takes a lot of time and effort for employers, especially when they don’t have any internal HR team. A recruiting partner can fill that recruiting department gap and create a customized approach for each client.

    Recruitment partners come in different forms. Some agencies specialize solely in finding and hiring employees, while professional employer organizations (PEOs) provide employee recruitment in addition to other services. Either way, entering into a recruitment partnership agreement can help you outsource time-consuming tasks like:

    • Creating and updating job descriptions
    • Drafting ideal candidate attributes, skills, and other qualities
    • Post openings to various job boards
    • Writing standardized interview questions
    • Application screening and shortlisting
    • Scheduling calls and interviewing candidates

    A recruiting partnership can also extend to another valuable relationship as well. Some PEOs and other companies maintain relationships with job posting platforms, such as LinkedIn, Indeed, and others. Recruiting companies with these relationships give businesses looking to outsource the recruitment process even more access to potential candidates than they would on their own.

    Multiple blocks representing job candidates found through a recruitment partnership agreement.

    How Businesses Benefit From Recruitment Partnership Agreements

    A true partnership needs to be beneficial for employers. Fortunately, there are a variety of reasons why small and medium-sized businesses outsource their recruiting efforts to a trusted partner.

    They save time

    A good recruiting partner helps businesses save time in multiple ways. To start, outsourcing some or all the recruitment process saves employers from having to manage these tasks on their own. Between posting job ads, reviewing resumes, and finding interview times that work for everyone, the hiring process can take up hours of valuable work time. Having a recruiting partner allows employers to focus on other duties while experts handle important yet time-consuming recruiting tasks.

    Another way that recruitment partners save businesses time is by shortening how long it takes to fill a position. SHRM reports that the average time to fill for U.S. businesses is 36 days. However, recruiting partners can speed up this process by attracting more candidates and streamlining your recruitment process.

    They improve your ads

    Not all job ads are created equal. Working with a recruitment team allows you to maximize the effectiveness of each posting. Recruitment experts can work with employers to narrow down exactly which type of candidates would make for high-level, long-term employees. Recruiters tailor job ads around those ideal qualities to make qualified candidates more likely to see the posting. These experts can even send the opening to passive candidates who may be a great fit but aren’t actively looking for a new job.

    Another recruitment strategy is to enhance your business’ presence on a job posting platform. Recruiting partners can help businesses build and claim company profile pages and showcase exactly why candidates should work for them. Those features include putting together company values, employee testimonials, and other qualifiers that can make your company more appealing.

    Greater ad buying power

    In addition to improving your ads, recruiting partners can help your ads show up more frequently for qualified candidates. The more ads a company posts on a job site, the more likely that site will favor those ads.

    Recruiting partners can post enough that their clients essentially enjoy greater buying power for their positions. For example, GMS posts a multitude of ads on behalf of different companies that platforms like LinkedIn and Indeed consider as higher-level corporate partners. Dollar for dollar, our ads will be higher on the page compared to a non-partner, which makes it more likely that job seekers will see your open positions.

    More marketplace insight

    When your ads have to compete with other businesses, it’s good to know what the competition is doing to attract your ideal candidates. Recruiting partners can conduct marketplace research to identify both industry trends and specific hiring tactics used by local rivals.

    This research can give you plenty of insight into where you lie in the marketplace. Once you know where you stand in terms of compensation, benefits, and other selling points, you and your recruiting partner can determine the best plan of action to maximize your recruiting efforts.

    Access to recruiting technology

    Most small businesses aren’t going to have special software to streamline their recruiting efforts, but recruiting partners will. By entering a recruitment partnership agreement, your company can gain access to online recruiting technology such as an applicant tracking system (ATS) that automates time-consuming tasks and enhances your recruiting efforts.

    Find The Right Recruiting Partnership For Your Business

    It’s not easy finding and hiring the right employees. The recruiting process is a big commitment for any business owner, which is why GMS partners with employers to lessen their workload and improve their hiring efforts.

    GMS works closely with companies to create a customized recruiting approach for their needs. We can scale with your needs, whether you want us to oversee seasonal hiring needs or the entire recruitment process for your business. Contact GMS today to learn more about our recruiting services and our unique partnerships.

  • Since recruitment is an essential function of the human resources department, it’s important to have a strategic process in place. A recruitment process is a list of steps that gets you from the job description to the offer letter and ultimately, onboarding the new hire. It’s essentially a step-by-step approach to bringing in talented individuals who will help the company grow. The recruitment process not only helps attract the right kind of candidates, but it reflects the company’s values. Being able to understand how to optimize the job recruitment process can shorten the hiring cycle by 60% while also improving the quality of your hires. Continue reading to learn about the steps in the recruiting process.

    Step 1: Identify Your Needs

    Define exactly what you’re looking for in a candidate for each position. It’s essential to sit down with your team to determine the specific hiring needs for your open job positions. Make sure these requirements are precise, specific, and realistic. You may think it’s quite simple to replace a role for someone who just left. However, this step in the recruitment process tends to get more difficult when you’re starting from scratch for a position you’ve never had or you’re changing the responsibilities of a role.

    Step 2: Prepare The Job Description 

    Once you determine the candidate’s persona, write down a detailed job description. Creating a compelling and unique description will help you attract the most qualified candidates for your job. The job description summarizes the essential responsibilities, skills, and qualifications for the role. This is a very important step in the recruiting process. Your job description should include:

    • A clearly defined job title
    • The job overview 
    • Company overview 
    • Benefits
    • A list of responsibilities 
    • Required skills
    • Salary for the position 

    There are millions of job postings on the internet. Ensure you create a job description that will stand out from the rest. This is the beginning of marketing your company and your job to your future hire.

    Step 3: Create A Recruitment Plan

    After writing a detailed job description, sit down with your team to determine what the next best steps are. A recruitment plan will provide your team with an outline of the steps your company will take when filling the position. These strategies help businesses focus their efforts and resources on specific hiring strategies that will provide them with excellent candidates. Create a timeline for each step moving forward so you know exactly what you have to do to reach your end goal, an offer. On average, a new position takes 27 days to fill. Determine when and where you will conduct interviews. Have a deadline in place for when you need the position filled.

    Step 4: Start Searching

    When you start searching for candidates to fill the roles, it will be the most time-consuming step in the recruitment process. It takes time and patience to find the right candidate who is depicted in the first and second steps of the recruitment process. Utilize recruitment tools to cut down on search time. Below are ways in which you can best utilize your search efforts:

    • Create targeted ads (use social media platforms including LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor)
    • Engage with candidates who have applied in the past
    • Attend career fairs within the area
    • Employee referrals
    • Networking events

    Step 5: Recruit Top-tier Talent

    All companies want top talent to be a part of their team. However, these candidates most likely have many options. Your team must be strategic when recruiting these types of individuals. Especially in today’s tough labor market, attracting top talent is more competitive than ever. Companies need to be proactive so they can ensure that they attract the best talent and ultimately, keep them long-term. Below is a list of important factors to consider when looking for top-tier talent: 

    • Create a positive workplace culture
    • Treat current employees well
    • Know your best sources for talent
    • Plan your interviews based on the quality of talent
    • Be sure you verify candidates’ credentials
    • Make an offer fast
    • Keep in touch with quality candidates

    You need to ensure you make an offer fast to top-tier talent as they are most likely receiving a handful of other offers from other companies. Top candidates are only available for 10 days before being hired elsewhere. If they decline your offer and decide to go elsewhere, continue to stay in touch with them. It shows the candidate that you had a high interest in them, and you may find another position with your company that might be a better fit in the future.

    Step 6: Conduct A Phone Screen

    Once your team has found a handful of qualified candidates, it’s time to start interviewing. Prior to bringing the candidates in for a formal interview, conduct a phone screening to confirm they will be a good fit for the position. The phone interview step gives you the opportunity to ask preliminary questions and determine which applicants have met the necessary job requirements to move on to the next step, an in-person interview. This allows your team to narrow down the selection process and make sure you want to take the time to interview the candidate in person. Job candidates are interviewing your company the same way you’re interviewing them. Be sure you have a list of the top interview questions to ask before you begin this step. Questions to ask in a phone screen interview:

    • Tell me about yourself
    • Can you tell me about your background?
    • Why are you leaving your current employer?
    • What do you know about our company?
    • What are your salary expectations?
    • How soon would you be able to start?
    • Do you have any questions?

    Step 7: Interview In Person

    Following the phone screening interview and determining qualified candidates, it’s time to bring them in for an interview. These interviews should be conducted quickly after the phone screen interview. This step in the recruiting process should be unique and show the candidate what your company is all about. The cost of a bad hire adds up with the salary, training costs, hiring a replacement, etc. On average, companies lose $14,900 on every bad hire. Consider asking these questions to get the most out of your interview:

    • What type of impact did you make at your most recent job?
    • Tell me about a time you failed to reach a goal or complete a project. What happened, and why were you unsuccessful?
    • How would your colleagues describe you?
    • Name a work accomplishment that makes you proud. 
    • What motivates you?
    • Do you like working with a team or working alone?
    • When conflict arises at work, how do you handle it?
    • Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

    Be sure you are communicating with the candidate about where you are in the process and what the next steps are. Be sure to lay out the timeline so they know exactly what to expect.

    Step 8: Offer

    You’ve made it to the final steps where you see all your hard work pay off. You have determined a candidate that possesses the qualities you’re looking for. This is the most important step of the recruitment process. Make sure you present a desirable offer to the candidate that they won’t pass up. You first need to make a verbal job offer. Let the candidate know right away that you’re extending an official offer of employment. Be sure to provide details regarding the position, start date, compensation, bonus structure (if applicable), pay frequency, and when they need to accept or decline the offer.

    After you offer the candidate a verbal offer over the phone, it’s time to move on to the written offer. Provide all the information mentioned in the verbal offer along with their future manager’s contact information, and any steps they might have to take so they can come in ready to go for their first day of work. Make sure you get the written offer letter over to the candidate as soon as possible, via email. Provide a deadline for them to get the offer letter back to you to keep the momentum going. Once you’ve sent the offer over email, follow up via phone or email to ensure they received the offer letter. Anticipate this step to take slightly longer and be ready to negotiate salary and benefits.

    If they accept the offer, ensure you are following up with them once a week between the acceptance date and their first day. If not, you could run into the chance of the candidate backing out.

    Step 9: Onboarding

    Onboarding the new hire is your final step in the recruitment process and lends a hand to their success within their new role. Although there will be a plethora of forms during the onboarding process, it’s also important to include processes and resources that will help them transition into your company successfully. Consider having one-on-one meetings with them weekly or bi-weekly to check in with the new employee.

    The Benefits Of Outsourcing HR

    As you’ve noticed, it takes a lot of time and money to implement a recruitment process successfully. From creating a job ad to finding the right candidate to providing opportunities for employee development, the cost of hiring and training adds up. Professional employer organizations (PEOs) like GMS provide guidance on hiring and training as well as manage the administrative burdens associated with all aspects of the employee life cycle.

    Melanie Bahr, Recruitment Specialist Manager at GMS, provides her insights on hiring. “In this ever-changing and challenging hiring environment, finding the right candidate can feel like finding a needle in a haystack. Below are three important issues to consider in making a better hiring decision:

    1. Experience versus potential: experience is the most important and valued factor when evaluating a candidate. It’s important to remember experience is not everything, do not prioritize it over everything else. You may interview people who seem promising but don’t have much of a track record. While these candidates have not proven themselves at work yet, they have obvious potential.
    2. Skill set: determine what the must-have skills are and look at which skills you can train the candidate in. Many soft skills can make a candidate a great option and with little training, could be the right fit.
    3. Culture fit: consider thinking about how a candidate will fit in with your company’s culture. When employees are a good fit culturally, they will be happier at work allowing for enhanced productivity and reduced turnover.

    As a premier human resources company, we give our clients access to state-of-the-art HR software and other resources necessary to grow their business. GMS can help strengthen your business through our employee training and recruitment services. Contact us today to learn more.

  • Recruiting plays a major role for any growing company. The problem for many business owners is that recruiting is neither quick nor simple. It’s essential for employers to hire the right people for their business, but that type of commitment can take a lot of work and dedication without some help.

    Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) gives businesses the resources to simplify their recruiting efforts without sacrificing on the quality of their search. The RPO market has steadily grown for years as more businesses turn to outsourcing as a viable solution for their needs. In this post, we’ll break down how RPO works, why you may need it, and how it can benefit your business.

    What Is Recruitment Process Outsourcing?

    Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) is a partnership where a business hires a separate company to manage the various tasks and responsibilities associated with finding potential job candidates. The RPO provider then acts as the recruiting extension of that company and provides talent acquisition services based on their needs.

    RPO providers can come in different forms, ranging from third-party staffing agencies to Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) that provide comprehensive HR solutions. The exact level of RPO services can vary depending on how much assistance an organization needs. There are multiple types of outsourcing engagements available:

    • On-demand RPO – Outsource recruiting services on an as-need basis for a specific job or to accommodate recruitment during peak hiring seasons.
    • Partial-cycle RPO – Selectively outsource single or multiple components of the recruiting process to alleviate internal workload and maximize hiring efforts.
    • Full-cycle RPO – Have an RPO provider manage the entirety of the recruiting process, from initial job descriptions up to the final offer.

    Does My Business Need Recruitment Process Outsourcing?

    Regardless of the size of your business, there are multiple steps that an organization must take when recruiting new employees. Each of these tasks takes time and effort, including:

    • Writing and updating job descriptions.
    • Drafting a specification of desired attributes, skills, and other qualities for the ideal hire.
    • Advertising the opening on job boards, social media, and other places.
    • Screening the applications, creating standardized interview questions, and interviewing initial candidates.
    • Shortlisting applicants and conducting second interviews.
    • Selecting the most suitable candidate (or starting over if none was found).
    • Making a job offer.
    • Updating unsuccessful applicants.
    • Passing relevant client information along to initiate the onboarding process.

    The key to deciding whether to outsource some or all of these tasks involves your organization’s challenges and needs. Any of the following business challenges are legitimate reasons why businesses turn to RPO to bolster their hiring process:

    • Recruiting has become time-consuming and costly to manage internally.
    • Your organization needs to quickly address short-term turnover or keep up with demand.
    • Internal recruiting efforts aren’t yielding qualified candidates.
    • You’re looking to improve your time-to-hire.
    • It’s becoming difficult to manage and track all the different applications, especially when multiple managers or teams are involved.
    • You want to concentrate more of your time and energy on core business functions and leave recruiting to the experts.

    What Are The Benefits Of Outsourcing Recruitment?

    If you find that your business needs recruiting support, it’s time to consider an RPO. Outsourcing some or all of your recruitment efforts can benefit hiring managers and their employers in the following ways.

    Reduced recruiting costs

    It’s no secret that recruiting good talent takes time and money. Outsourcing these recruiting efforts not only reduces costs associated with labor, but also streamlines these processes to make them more efficient. RPO services can also scale with your business as it grows, adding even more flexibility and cost-efficiencies as your hiring needs increase.

    Improved time-to-hire

    A streamlined recruiting process does more than just reduce overall costs. RPO providers can cut down on hiring times by implementing more efficient recruitment strategies and attracting more qualified candidates. In turn, your business can start onboarding employees quicker than before.

    Better candidate quality

    Those same strategies also help businesses find employees who are particularly suited for open positions. In addition to expanding searches to new sources, RPO partners can directly recruit ideal candidates and reach out to these individuals. These measures can open your business up to new candidates you wouldn’t have found on your own.

    Recruitment technology

    Access to special software like applicant tracking systems (ATS) is another way that RPOs lead to both cost savings and an improved process. These systems can automate time-consuming tasks, use machine learning to sort and rule out applicants, and increase internal collaboration through a variety of functions and features.

    Advanced tracking and analytics

    Want hard data to show how well your recruiting efforts are working? RPO solutions can set performance benchmarks, provide real-time data to track success, and highlight areas for improvement.

    Streamlined onboarding

    An RPO doesn’t have to only support your recruiting efforts. These partners can help you streamline the onboarding process by integrating initial procedures into an ATS. This setup will help automate the welcoming process once an offer is accepted and prepare new hires with key documents, new employee forms, and other vital information.

    Compliance support

    A few simple mistakes can lead to compliance issues. RPO providers can help businesses stay clear of regulatory issues, such as avoiding illegal interview questions and establishing best practices for the recruitment process.

    How To Choose A Recruitment Process Outsourcing Partner

    While there are countless forms of recruitment companies out there, some are better for your business than others. It’s important to evaluate each provider before you invest in RPO. There are several factors that will impact which RPO provider is right for your organization.

    • The ability to scale with your organization, both over time and during seasonal hiring needs.
    • Customization options for your specific recruiting program.
    • Partnerships with employment websites and other hiring sources.
    • State-of-the-art technology and other resources.
    • Excellent customer service and organizational support.
    • Comprehensive HR outsourcing solutions that extend beyond recruiting.

    As recruiting top talent becomes more difficult than ever, GMS strives to help businesses simplify and improve their hiring efforts. Being a PEO, we can oversee the recruiting process to save you both time and money while providing you with a pool of quality candidates. Contact GMS today to talk to one of our experts about outsourcing employee recruiting and other time-consuming administrative functions.

  • Hiring is an exciting development for a growing business, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. According to Glassdoor, it takes an average of 23.8 days to complete the hiring process. That timeline accounts for everything from creating the job description to extending an offer – and all the hard work in between.

    That amount of work is exactly why businesses turn to applicant tracking systems (ATS) to streamline this essential business function. Let’s break down what an ATS does and how it can support your business.

    What Does Applicant Tracking System Software Do?

    An ATS is a form of recruiting software designed to simplify the hiring process. This type of software, also referred to as a talent management system, helps businesses organize important processes and improve internal efficiencies to streamline the entirety of the hiring cycle.

    A typical ATS performs a variety of tasks to automate time-consuming responsibilities and provide additional information. These tasks can include, but are not limited to the following functions and capabilities:

    • An ability to post openings to various job boards.
    • Storage of applicant data as individuals apply to your open positions.
    • Application screening to identify potential matches based on set parameters, keyword filters, and other means.
    • Applicant ranking based on how well resumes match a specific job description.
    • Collaboration tools that allow employers and recruiters to comment on applicants and leave ratings for internal review.
    • Automated emails to schedule interviews, update candidates, and stay connected with priority individuals.

    The Benefits Of Applicant Tracking System For Employers

    When it comes to the hiring process, businesses can use every advantage they can get. An ATS is equipped to give organizations the tools and technology needed to stay competitive while improving their internal procedures. These benefits allow your business to do the following:

    • Find and hire better candidates.
    • Improve the candidate experience.
    • Make the hiring process shorter and more efficient.
    • Increase collaboration during the hiring process.
    • Streamline the onboarding process.
    • Stay competitive in the hiring market.

    Find and hire better candidates

    Between the need for skilled workers and the costs of employee turnover, it’s essential to find the right people for your positions. Tracking systems gives employers an advanced way to identify ideal candidates for each and every role. Employers can prioritize certain skills and other factors to call out more qualified individuals. Some systems can even utilize artificial intelligence to create an ideal profile for a position and predict new success factors for future candidates.

    Another way that an ATS can improve your candidate pool is by helping it grow. These systems can help distribute applications to as many job boards, recruitment sites, social media platforms, and other potential posting destinations as you deem fit for your business. Better yet, users can publish job posts on all these sites simultaneously (or pretty close to it). This streamlined approach to job distribution makes it easier for employers to reach more people without nearly as much of the legwork.

    Improve the candidate experience

    Tracking technology also allows employers to improve your reach is to simplify the application process for candidates. An ATS gives job seekers the ability to apply for your positions on their phone, laptop, tablet, or any other device. Better yet, applicants won’t need to create a new account and log in to apply to your openings. In turn, promising candidates won’t drop out early to pursue other openings with fewer roadblocks.

    Make the hiring process shorter and more efficient

    Manually reviewing applications is a long, tedious process. An ATS takes out a lot of the menial labor by organizing and optimizing the review process.

    As individuals submit their applications, an ATS automatically pulls every submission into a central database. These systems will then use varying means ranging from pre-set filters to AI machine learning to sort and even rule out certain applicants. These methods give your business a streamlined process to review organized, qualified applications.

    A good ATS also reduces time-to-fill for job openings is by simplifying the applicant management process. An ATS makes it quick and easy to message candidates through a single platform. Businesses can even automate large portions of applicant management through chatbots that screen questions and address frequently asked questions.

    Applicant tracking technology also automates the scheduling process. It takes time to review calendars, set up interviews, and send out information. An ATS typically offers integrated scheduling tools to set up interviews and send out meeting reminders. This process not only saves you from more initial work, but also keeps everyone on the same page to limit confusion and potential no-shows.

    Increase collaboration during the hiring process

    It’s not always easy to get everyone on the same page during the hiring process. It’s good to get input from different individuals within your company, but it can be difficult to collect everyone’s input and keep everyone in the loop. The right system gives users a space to work together in an organized fashion.

    ATS software allows different team members to take notes, see resumes, and review other information all in one place. The recruiter can use this system to assign out roles and set up alerts for anyone needed in the hiring process. These tools help ensure that everyone can take part in selecting the right candidate without adding extra complications.

    Streamline the onboarding process

    An ATS offers benefits that extend beyond job applications and interviews. These systems also allow businesses to speed up the onboarding process and help qualified candidates start their new careers off right.

    Once you fill a position, the ATS starts the welcoming process for your newest employee. Employers can set up their ATS to provide new hires with key information about their role, the business, and expectations for the initial few weeks. These systems can also prompt individuals to fill out new employee forms and other necessary paperwork.

    Stay competitive in the hiring market

    The vast majority of Fortune 500 companies use some form of ATS in their hiring process. Based on all the benefits listed above, that makes sense. However, that doesn’t mean that this type of software is exclusive to larger companies.

    Businesses of all sizes can reap the benefits of an ATS. A good system can help your company stay ahead of big corporations by making your openings more visible and giving applicants quick, easy access to your business.

    Streamline Your Recruiting And Hiring Process

    As the labor market tightens, hiring is only getting harder for small and mid-size businesses. That’s why GMS partners with businesses to manage this essential process. Between our team of HR experts and cutting-edge applicant tracking technology, we can help you recruit top talent while saving you from the time it takes to do so.

    Ready to simplify your business? Contact us now to talk to our recruiting and hiring managers about how GMS can help solve your talent acquisition challenges.

  • COVID-19 has brought many unforeseen challenges, however, one that employers can get ahead of is the Great Resignation. The term was coined in 2019 by Texas A&M’s Anthony Klotz. This prediction displayed a widespread voluntary removal of those within the workforce. As we come to the end of the year, the Great Resignation has continued to gain momentum. According to Harvard Business Review, beginning in April 2021, over four million employees quit within that month alone. This led to a record-breaking number of open positions reaching 10.7 million by July.  

    Is the worst yet to come? Experts are telling employers to brace themselves as they expect even more employees to quit after year-end benefits, such as bonuses, commissions, celebrations, and PTO, all diminish.  

    Heading into 2022, this is going to play a major role in the way businesses operate. To attract and retain top talent, one must understand why employees are leaving. Spoiler alert, contrary to popular belief, the once generous government benefits that may have encouraged people to opt-out of actual work are actually not to blame.  

    There are two key trends that have been identified thus far. First, mid-career employees (those aged 30 to 45 years old) have the greatest increase in resignation rates. It’s possible that this is caused by “pandemic epiphanies,” meaning employees have simply reached their breaking point and are choosing to step away from the heavy workloads and stressors that come along with their current 9-5. The second trend points out that the dramatic variance of turnover rates in different industries. Specifically, both the technology and health care industries have seen much higher attrition. It’s assumed that these industries witnessed such change due to the increase in demand for both during the pandemic, ultimately leading to burnout.  

    Strategies To Combat The Resignation: 

    Knowing that the cost to onboard a new employee exceeds $4,000, now more than ever employers need to focus on keeping the talent that they already have. Consider these strategies to help: 

    1. Put work-life balance at the top of your organization’s list 
    2. Invest in your employees – give them competitive compensation, top-notch healthcare, and retirement 
    3. Train leaders to recognize and address burnout 
    4. Create a clear pathway for employee growth by investing in training and development 
    5. Implement “stay interviews,” which consist of management interviewing employees to get a better pulse on their experience and allows the employee to share any recommendations or feedback that they may have. 

    How GMS can make a difference:  

    Partnering with GMS allows business owners to have valuable tools to continue to increase employee retention. The Great Resignation is by no means coming to an end as we head into 2022. Partnering with GMS can combat the challenges that await. Contact GMS today to learn how we can help you tackle The Great Resignation.